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Trading away the dance-pop trifles of their hits for a faceless stylistic shuffle, the duo seems to be tiring of itself, too. We’re going to be stuck with the Chainsmokers forever. Though the unctuous duo of Drew Taggart and Alex Pall are probably not destined for decades of unqualified success, their insipid spin on EDM’s big-money boom has become as much an eye-rollingly omnipresent part of our national fabric as “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Most living humans in the Western world have likely had the unfortunate sensation of having a Chainsmokers hit stuck in their head, as gross as gum on a hot bus seat; after all, their Coldplay collaboration, “Something Just Like This,” seems made only to ooze from department-store speakers for eternity. There’s even a goddamn feature-length film based on the M83-aping “Paris” in development. Like so many modern American atrocities, the Chainsmokers are just something we’re going to have to endure.

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Xiaomi Redmi 8 Release Date, Price & Spec Rumours

A 48Mp camera is tipped for Xiaomi's next-generation Redmi family, which launches on 10 January. Here's what you need to know about Redmi 7 (or is it Redmi 8?).

Xiaomi has confirmed the next Redmi series will launch in China at 2pm (GMT +8) on 10 January 2019.

Xiaomi announced its trio of Redmi 6-series phones back in the summer, with the budget 6A, 6 and 6 Pro (the latter also known as the Mi A2 Lite) arriving in June 2018. In January 2019 the successors are expected to arrive, and it’s our hunch that Xiaomi will skip entirely the Redmi 7 line and go straight for Redmi 8, as it did with this year’s flagship Mi family.

We often see Chinese companies skipping fourth-generation products, since the number four is not considered lucky in China (it is homophonous with the word ‘death’), but Xiaomi had another reason entirely for snubbing the number seven. The Mi 8 is a significant upgrade over the Mi 6, and Xiaomi hoped that skipping a generation in the numbering scheme would make this clear to consumers.

The next Redmi generation is also thought to be a significant upgrade over its predecessors, the first with an all-glass design as well as other interesting features such as a 48Mp camera, and Xiaomi will likely want to keep its numbering in sync between Redmi and Mi. Or at least we hope it will, since it’s confusing enough as it is already.

The 48Mp lens is thought to be one of a trio of cameras on the rear of the device, which will also run the mid-range Snapdragon 675. This is an 11nm chip comprising the Kryo 460 architecture based on Cortex-A76 and -A55 cores.

This 48Mp camera may well be reserved for the Redmi 8 Pro model, while the 8 and 8A will have somewhat slimmed-down specs.

A device with the model number M1901F9T has appeared on TENAA and is thought to be an update on the Redmi 6 family.

Some early photos from TENAA (shown above) reveal a rear fingerprint scanner, a dual-camera with AI, and a waterdrop-style screen notch, though the latter is contrary to rumours that there will be a ‘punch-hole’ style selfie camera cutout. We also know this phone has a 5.84in LCD display and a 2,900mAh battery.

Three phones with similar-looking model numbers have also popped up at the Chinese 3C for certification, with the M1901F7C, M1901F7E and M1901F7T each featuring budget-level 10W (5V/2A) charging.

The slightly differing model numbers suggest there may in fact be four phones - could we also see a Mi 8X? Though it’s not a Redmi phone, the Mi 6X sits at the budget end of the flagship Mi line and in the UK is sold as the Mi A2, the non-Lite version of the Redmi 6 Pro.

How Much Will The Redmi 8 Cost?

Estimating the price of the upcoming Redmi 8 series is difficult when you consider that there will likely be three or maybe even four models, and the only whispers we’ve heard is that the 48Mp model will cost more than CNY 2,000, which is about £230/US$290. Prices are always going to be a little higher in the UK anyway, since Xiaomi has less control over the supply and distribution chain.

The current generation, which includes the 6A, 6 and 6 Pro (or Mi A2 Lite) retail in the UK at £99, £149 and £179 respectively, while the Mi 6X (or Mi A2) costs from £259, so we could see at least a £50 price hike over the outgoing generation.

When Is The Redmi 8 Coming Out?

Xiaomi has now confirmed that the Redmi product launch will be held in China at 2pm (GMT+8) on 10 January 2019.

Expect the Redmi 8 series to launch first in China, and come later to other markets such as India, the UK, France, Spain and Italy.

In the meantime you’ll almost certainly be able to pick them up from the likes of GearBest, though we urge you to look for Global or International ROM variants.

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